How Rodney Met Katie
by moms2398
Summary: The events that led up to Rodney and Katie getting together aren't exactly what one would imagine... Gets heated in spots. HET, McKay/OC, with a wink at Shep/OC . Please READ and REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

John Sheppard rolled to his back, exhausted. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Colonel Sheppard to the Control Room."

His eyes popped open. He groaned and sat up. He reached for his earpiece and responded. "I'll be there in 10."

"No rest for the wicked, eh, darlin'?"

He turned to look at the woman wrapped in a sheet behind him. "Yeah."

She smiled and closed her eyes. "Do you mind if I stayed here for a few minutes, to catch my breath?"

John grinned as he stood. "Feel free."

"Dr. Ana Lee to the Control Room."

Her eyes opened up. "Oh, crap! What would they want _me_ for, at this hour?"

John walked his naked self into the bathroom and started the shower. With a wicked grin, he poked his head out again to say, "No rest for the wicked." Then he chuckled as he dodged an in-coming pillow.

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Dr. Ana Lee stood at a computer console next to Dr. Rodney McKay. "Really, McKay, this couldn't wait until morning? A girl needs her beauty sleep," she said softly in her Southern drawl.

Rodney looked at her. "Yes, well, as much as that may be the case, you _are_ the chief linguist."

Ana straightened to her full 5'8" and narrowed her blue eyes at him. "You have the inter-personal skills of gnat, y'know?"

"What?" He looked up as she picked up the notebook and walked into the nearby conference room. "What did I say?"

"You agreed that she _needed_ beauty sleep," Chuck responded from the central control panel.

"I did? Yes, well, she said it first," he protested as a way of defense.

Chuck just raised his eyebrows and looked back down at the panel, to which McKay huffed and walked after Dr. Lee.

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Inside the conference room, Drs. Lee and McKay sat at the conference table with Dr. Elizabeth Weir, Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagen, as well Major Evan Lorne and Dr. Radek Zalenka, who had just returned from a mission, with notebooks and mission folders on the table in front of them.

"From what I can make out, there is a repository of knowledge on this planet," McKay stated. "This language looks like Ancient, but not exactly, perhaps a derivation."

"Then how do you know what it says?" Sheppard asked.

McKay pointed at the screen. "Because this word looks just like the one for knowledge that was found in the Ancient database."

"That doesn't mean anything," Sheppard shook his head. "'_caro_' looks like 'car', but they don't mean the same thing."

McKay frowned. "Yes, they do."

"No. They don't. _Caro_ means 'expensive', car means, well, you know what car means."

McKay looked off to the side thoughtfully. "Are you sure, because I could swear…"

Lee sat back and crossed her arms, watching the exchange. A smile played on her face for a while, then she stood. "Looks like you all have the linguistics angle wrapped up, so I'm going back to bed."

Dr. Weir spoke up. "Ana, wait. John, Rodney, are you done?"

Sheppard and McKay both suddenly looked sheepish.

Lee smiled as she sat down. "Colonel Sheppard is correct that one word looking like another can be very misleading, such as _caro_ and car. Dr. McKay is, of course, thinking of the similarities between _carro_ and car – which _do_ mean the same thing. It has everything to do with how a language is influenced by other languages. For example, _expensive _is probably a derivative of _dispendieux_, which is French, where as _carro_ probably came from Latin. In this case," she nodded at her audience's growing impatience. "The word 'legacy' _is_ here, but the words 'place of' are missing. In fact, it has another word here, that wasn't on any of the other sites discovered in the Milky Way by SG-1"

"Which is?" McKay asked, even as Sheppard opened his mouth to.

Lee smiled at them. "I don't know."

The room fell silent. After a second, Lee began to laugh. Soon, Radek joined her and then Lorne and Teyla tried to hide their smiles.

"What is so funny?" McKay demanded.

"You all are so used to people pulling information out of various orifices that when someone actually admits to not knowing something, you get the most _precious_ looks on your faces," Lee grinned.

Sheppard and Weir smiled, then, but McKay looked at her indignantly.

"So, do you think you might be able to figure out the translation sometime soon?"

Lee's smile dissolved at McKay's patronizing tune. "If I can look at the context of the writing, I could probably get the information for _you_, oh, I don't know, maybe, when _hell_ freezes over." Purposely turning her back on him, she turned, then to Weir. "It shouldn't take me long to get the translation once I have a look at it in context."

Weir smiled. "Well, you have the video of Major Lorne's mission. How about looking at the material for a couple of hours and reporting to me then."

Lee nodded as she gathered her things and left the room.

McKay stood and followed, still sputtering.

Everyone filtered out of the room until John and Radek were the last ones. John took a sip of his now cold coffee as Radek looked out the door and said:

"I keep waiting for the two of them to just get a room."

John did a spit take that would make any Hollywood actor proud.

Radek turned and frowned.

John gulped. "Coffee, bad." He regained his composure. "Why would you say something like that?"

Radek shrugged. "Come on, you don't see all the sexual tension between them? Not that McKay couldn't use it anyway, but maybe if they'd just get it over with, things would be easier around the labs."

John shook his head and tried desperately to get the newly conjured image out of his head. "Get some rest, Radek. I think you need it."

Radek nodded in his easy way and walked off.

Then a mischievous idea entered his head and he headed for the language lab.

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"He said WHAT?!"

John smiled. "What, you don't see it?"

Ana Lee looked askance at him, thoroughly shocked. "Are you kiddin' me? Me and that…that…_idiot_? Really, Shep, I don't know what you're smokin' but you need to share."

John frowned. "Now, now. Idiot? Really?"

"Do you know that – that – _man_ told me I _needed_ BEAUTY SLEEP?!"

John chuckled. "Well, considering you hadn't slept yet…"

Ana clamped her jaw shut at this and glared at him. She struggled to restrain the smile until he wiggled his eyebrows at her and she burst into laughter.

"You're an ass," she laughed.

John smiled. "So are you going to pursue it?"

"Your ass or McKay?" At John's look, she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow with a wry look. "What, so I can be the one woman who has bagged you both?"

John suddenly frowned. "Now, why did you have to say it that way?

She stuck her tongue out at him. "To get you out of my lab. I need to finish this without any more distractions. And as welcome a distraction as you may be, I have work to do."

John started to move toward the door. "But now I'm going to have nightmares. The imagery is just too much," he protested.

"You're not kiddin' there," she shook her head. "Out."

"Good night." He grinned.

"Out!"

He walked out, then poked his head back around the corner.

"Breakfast?"

"OUT!"


	2. Chapter 2

Ana walked into Weir's office to report on her findings to find McKay was also there. Choosing to put aside the irritation she'd felt earlier, she smiled at them both, briefly.

Elizabeth smiled back. "Good morning, Ana. What do you have?"

"I need to go to the planet."

"What?"

Ana shook her head. "There are sections of the writing that are unclear in the video. I don't want to mistranslate it and have someone's brains scrambled as a result. We don't have any resident Asgard around to unscramble them."

McKay smiled, mirthlessly. "Oh, ha, ha. Except that it will be my brains that are scrambled and I will probably have a higher tolerance than General O'Neill did."

Ana narrowed her eyes at him and smiled a Mona Lisa smile. "On second thought, Elizabeth, I think we're good to go."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I'll let Colonel Sheppard know that we need to go back. He'll let you know when to be ready."

She smiled, sugary sweet, to McKay. "Good morning, Rodney."

He frowned at her. "I know you don't really mean that."

Her smile widened as she walked away.

McKay tilted his head as he watched her go, admiring her walk, despite of his irritation with her.

"Rodney!"

He popped his head back straight and turned back to find Elizabeth with her eyes narrowed at him and her arms crossed. His eyes widened slightly and his jaw dropped open. "Oh, I, uh…that is to say – "

Elizabeth smiled. "Why don't you get what you're going to need for the mission?"

He nodded, quickly, and moved out of her office.

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Sheppard walked down the stairs to the gate where Teyla and Rodney were waiting. He frowned. "Where's Dr. Lee?"

"I'm here!" She came, quickly, up the steps, carrying a flat presentation case.

Sheppard frowned. "You're not going to a board meeting, Doctor."

She smiled at him. "Cute, Colonel." She lifted the case. "It has paper in it for rubbings and some copies of translation rubbings from the two Milky Way repository sites. They're easier to read if kept flat instead of rolled up." At his look, she tilted her head. "Don't worry; it's not heavy at all. I can carry it."

John nodded. "Okay." He hit his earpiece and looked up to the control room. "We're ready."

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After a hike that seemed to last forever, the team came to a cave.

"Okay, this is it."

Ana Lee looked up and frowned. "It's inside a cave?"

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you're afraid of a cave."

She shot him a look of disgust. "No," she said slowly. "I just remember a lot more ambient light from the video."

He pulled a flashlight from his vest and waved it in the air. "Hello? They're called flashlights."

It was her turn to roll her eyes. "Hello? I know the difference between ambient light and Maglites."

John frowned at them. "Alright, kids," he said in the tone of a parent about to lose his temper. "Let's go." He hefted his P90 to the ready and took point, followed by Lee and McKay with Teyla covering the rear.

Deep inside the cave, they found a room that was a perfect circle. On the ground, a metallic circle of Ancient writing reflected against their flashlights. On the far wall, was a portal that, in the Milky Way galaxy, had been a repository of Ancient knowledge. Rodney and Ana shined flashlights around the room to see the walls covered with Ancient writings.

"I know there was more light than this on the video," Ana frowned.

Rodney frowned. "You might be right."

John walked forward and looked at the circle on the ground. "What is this?"

Ana started to speak, but Rodney cut her off. "From what I understand, it was a circle like that one that caused the portal over there to appear in the Milky Way."

Ana nodded. "In fact, according to the accounts from Dr. Daniel Jackson, the first repository was found in a room just like this one, except that that one had a Stargate and DHD in the room with it." She continued to illuminate the walls. "Though, this place has a lot more writing than that one did, it looks like."

She walked over to a wall next to the portal and opened her case. As she stood, Rodney approached and started to look into the portal. Ana knocked him to the side and frowned at him. "Are you crazy?"

Rodney frowned. "I wasn't that close."

Ana shook her head. "Both times General O'Neill got his brains scrambled, the portal reached out and grabbed him. And as much as I hate to say it, you're the last person in the galaxy we need to get scrambled."

Rodney's eyebrows rose as he looked down at her, then he looked at John, who shrugged.

"Teyla and I are going to go out and look around, make sure we don't get any unexpected visitors. You kids behave." He looked pointedly at Rodney. "And don't go looking into that thing."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine."

As they were leaving, John stepped into the circle and a light appeared from over head.

Ana looked up from where she was reading under her flashlight and smiled, smugly up at Rodney. "Told you!"

Rodney shook his head and turned off his flashlight, in response.

John sighed. "Dr. Lee," he said, lowly. "Behave."

Her eyes widened in a look of innocence that belied her smile of mischievousness.

He shook his head and nodded to Teyla, who followed him out of the door. Rodney and Ana then looked at each other, then back at the Ancient writing on the wall. Rodney pulled his notebook computer from its Velcro stays on his back and began to tap into it while Ana worked a section of the wall by comparing wall to paper.

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"This 'repository of knowledge'," Teyla said, as they walked out of the mouth of the cave. "What is it supposed to hold?"

John shrugged. "From all the SG1 mission reports I've read, it's _supposed_ to be a kind of a warehouse for all of the knowledge of the Ancients. Hell, General O'Neill built something like a ZPM from base materials the first time he was exposed to it."

Teyla frowned. "Then why would Dr. Lee and you tell Rodney to stay away from it? Would that not be useful information?"

John nodded. "Well, sure it would be, if it wasn't too much information for the human brain to hold at one time. It made him a little loopy, from what I understand."

Teyla's eyebrows rose and a small smile touched her face. "Loopy?"

John gave a half grin, then looked like he regretted saying it.

In response, she shook her head. "Is there anything on the life signs indicator?"

John glanced at it, then shook his head. "No. There wasn't anything to begin with; I just had to get out of there before my head exploded from the bickering."

This time Teyla actually laughed. "Thank you for thinking to include me."

John grinned. "Hey, what are friends for?"

Then the ground shook.


	3. Chapter 3

The door slid shut with an audible "whoosh".

Rodney and Ana looked behind them.

"What did you do?!" Rodney accused.

Ana frowned, standing. "Me? You're the one with the computer. I was _reading_. What did you touch?"

Rodney waved her off. "Just shut up for a minute and let me think." He put the notebook computer down and moved to the door with Ana at his heels. "There has to be a control panel—"

Then the ground shook.

She looked down as he spun around and looked up. He saw something falling from the ceiling as the light flickered. Without thinking, he grabbed her and ducked down as the lights went out completely.

Small rocks and a lot of sandy dirt rained down on his back as Ana clutched his shirt just under his arms. When the shaking stopped, they were in complete darkness. She began to straighten, still encircled by his arms.

"Are you okay?" She asked, softly, against his neck. When he didn't answer, she tightened her grasp on his shirt. "McKay," she pushed against him slightly. "_Rodney!_"

He looked down at her. "What happened?"

"Earthquake?" Ana asked. "I don't remember reading about seismic activity in Lorne's report."

"Oh, this is _not good!_ Not good at all! What happened to the lights?!" He patted himself. "Where's my flashlight? Do you have yours? What happened to the _lights?!_"

She took hold of his shoulders. "Calm down, McKay. Stay here. I'll go back and get mine."

"How will you find it?" He grabbed her arm.

"I'll walk to the wall and follow it around until I find the portal. I was directly below it."

"I'll go with you."

She patted his hand. "Stay here. Why don't you see if your radio works? Try to raise Sheppard."

"Oh, yes, right. Good idea."

She moved away as Rodney tapped his radio. "Sheppard!" There was no answer, so he hit it again. "Sheppard! Teyla! They're not answering. Oh, this is _not good!_" His voice started to increase in pitch. "Lee! Where are you?"

A sound in front of him, but a bit to the left, startled him.

"Sonofa…!"

"Dr. Lee?"

"I found your computer. I thought you had it with you."

"You _kicked_ my computer?"

"You left it on the floor! Why wouldn't you take it with you to work on the door?!"

He drew up. "I didn't think I would need it. There had to be a control panel… Wait! My flashlight should be right there."

A light came on and shown down on his notebook computer. "Found it," Ana said.

"Give it to me."

She shined the light at him. "If you don't mind, I'll get mine as well."

He set his mouth to a thin line and waited impatiently.

She picked up his notebook and walked over to where her things sat on the floor. She set the flashlight and his laptop on the floor and picked up the portfolio she'd laid open. As Rodney said "Oh, come _on!_" she shook the dirt off of the papers contained within and closed it. Then she picked up his computer and tucked it under her arm, picked up her flashlight and stowed it inside her vest, picked up his flashlight and her case, then walked across the room. When she stepped into the circle, she paused, but nothing happened.

"Hmm."

Rodney stepped forward into the circle as well. When nothing happened, he repeated her sentiment. "Hmm."

"You have the ATA gene, right?" Ana shined the light in his eyes.

He snatched the flashlight from her hand. "Yes. You?"

"Doctor Beckett's gene therapy," she nodded.

"So, it's not the gene."

She frowned. "That means it's broken."

"Wonderful!" He turned around and walked to the door. He looked around the edges of the door. Then he did it again. "Oh, no."

"What?"

Through the dim light of the flashlight, she could see him turn to look at her with despair etched into his face. "There's no control panel."

"What?!" She turned her flashlight on then and searched the sides of the door. "No. No, see…uh, who would install a door with no way to open it?"

"Did you even _see_ a door when you came in?"

"No," Ana frowned. "But I was looking at the portal."

"Aw, so was I," he dropped his hands to his side.

"Well, there's got to be some sort of access…isn't there?" She moved the light around the door frame again. The only thing she found were words. She sighed, deeply.

Rodney tapped his radio again and called out, plaintively. "Sheppard!"

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Elizabeth Weir headed down the stairs as John Sheppard and Teyla Emmagan stepped through the gate. "John?"

He frowned. "There's been a cave in. McKay and Lee are trapped inside the cave."

She frowned. "But you've been in contact with them. They're okay?"

He swallowed. "It looks like their radios are not functioning." At her look, he added. "They're both registering on the life signs indicator. They're both moving around, so I'm working on the presumption that they are just trapped."

She nodded. "I'll call Carson and have him on the rescue team, just in case. What do you need?"

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Rodney was in full panic mode now. "Why haven't they come yet? What if there was a cave in and Sheppard and Teyla are trapped? We won't be able to get out. They could be hurt and it'll be…" he looked at his watch. "Three more hours before Elizabeth sends anyone to find us."

He looked around. "We are so screwed."

Ana shined the flashlight in his eyes, making him wince and pull away. "Stop it."

"Seriously, how big do you think this room is? Twelve by twelve, roughly? The ceiling," he shined his light up. "Another twelve feet? Twelve cubic feet of air…"

Ana looked back at him. "_Stop it_, McKay! You are not going to sit here and calculate how long until our air runs out. Seriously? You can't think of anything better to do with that genius mind of yours?"

He noticed her Southern drawl was starting to become more pronounced. He knew it meant something, but he had no inclination to find out what it was. "Excuse me for realizing exactly how screwed we are."

She reached out and smacked his upper arm. "You are _not_ helpin' the situation."

"Ow! What did you do that for?"

"To snap you out of it. Panic is catchin', you know."

He shined his light into her face to find her eyebrows drawn together and her mouth set in a thin line. He saw fear in her eyes, but determination in her face. "Oh. Uh…yes, well…I'll just go back to the door."

She nodded. "I'll see what I can translate."

They moved to opposite sides of the door and began to work in their own ways.

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Zalenka looked up from the readings he was taking to find John Sheppard standing over his shoulder. He sighed, but reported. "It appears that a significant part of the cave has collapsed. We will need a great deal of manpower to dig them out."

John frowned. "I'll call Dr. Weir and get more help."


	4. Chapter 4

Ana sighed.

Rodney looked over at her as she rubbed the bridge of her nose and finally sat down, away from the section of wall she was working on. "What's wrong?"

"I'm tired. I have a headache and I'm frustrated because this seems to be a repetitive pattern. In the original Milky Way location, the inscription read 'the place of our legacy'; there's none of that here. There are no instructions for the repository or the door. In fact, the recurring theme seems to be ascension. It's like an instruction manual for how to become ascended. It reads like an old Buddhist sutra in that it seems to be instructions on how to set this life aside so that the reader can become a better monk."

He frowned. "You have a headache?" He looked around the room. "Do you think it could be oxygen deprivation?"

She frowned at him. "Not even a little bit. It's from reading in weak light."

"Are you sure? Because one of the symptoms of hypoxia is headache."

She frowned. "And one of the causes of a headache can be over-worry."

Rodney frowned and returned to the door way, frantically digging at the door frame to find a loose panel.

"Relax, McKay. There's no way to get the door open; no controls on the inside – maybe they're on the outside. We'll just have to wait."

"For what? The oxygen to run out?" Then he snapped his fingers. He picked up the flashlight and shined it across the room at the portal.

She followed his light and then looked back at him. "Don't even think about it."

"Well, if it is a repository of knowledge, then there should be instructions on how to open the door in there." He moved across the room.

She followed quickly. "And if there's not? Then I'm stuck in a very small room with a mad man who's using words like 'fron' and 'falatus' instead of 'head' and 'ability'."

"It's better than doing nothing."

"No." she shook her head. "It's not. You don't know what that thing will do to your head. Especially since the words 'place of our legacy' are absent. We don't even know that it _is_ a repository of Ancient knowledge. It could be a fancy microwave oven for all we know."

Rodney stationed himself in front of it and looked inside.

Ana threw her hands in the air and stepped back.

Nothing happened. Rodney saw only blackness inside, no light show. The portal didn't grab his head. Nothing. He pressed his face to the opening and still nothing. "We are so totally screwed!"

Ana sighed, relieved. "Well, now we have to wait for the others to find us."

"Why do you seem so fine with it? We don't know if Sheppard and Teyla are even alive, let alone able to get help. It could be days before anyone finds us and by then the air in this place will have run out."

Ana frowned, tersely. "You know, panic and pessimism are not at all attractive."

That got him to stop and look at her. She was sitting on the floor, legs crossed in a circle with her elbows on her knees and her fingertips massaging her temples. He swallowed. "Are you okay?"

She looked up at him. "I'm fine." She reached over and turned off her flashlight. "We should conserve the batteries, just in case."

"Oh, yes. Good idea, that." He frowned and looked around. "Say, are you hungry?"

She smiled up at him. "I'm good, actually, but you go ahead." She began to reach for the vest she'd taken off. "I have – "

"No, no. I have my Powerbar."

She made a face. "I hate those things."

"Really? I kind of like them."

She smiled. "I have some dried fruit if you want some."

McKay would have jumped at that normally, but her comment about conserving battery power reminded him that they should probably ration their food and water as well. "Maybe later."

She nodded.

They fell silent again.

After a bit, she spoke again. "So, tell me about yourself, McKay."

He frowned. "Ah, what? What do you want to know?"

She shrugged.

He honestly didn't know what to say.

Finally, she said. "When's your birthday?"

"April 18."

"Mine is October 25." She furnished. "Where were you born?"

"Uh, Canada. Toronto."

"I was born in Savannah, Georgia. USA." She smiled. "Did you spend your whole childhood in Toronto?"

He sighed. "Yes."

"I moved when I was ten to Richmond, Virginia." She said. "See? This is easy. What is your favorite color?"

Frowning, he said. "I don't think I have one – blue, I guess."

"Me, too. It used to be red, but my mother kept getting me pink instead and saying 'close enough'; I _hate_ pink." She shuddered. "Here's one for you – it's incredibly embarrassing for me and _no one_ knows it: what is your middle name?"

Rodney suddenly looked miserable. "Rodney."

"I said _middle._"

"Rodney is my middle name."

She looked intrigued. "Really? What is your first?"

"I'd really rather not say."

"Oh, come on. It can't possibly be as embarrassing as my middle name."

He frowned. "Oh, you wanna bet?"

She sighed. "Okay, then I'll go first. Belle" She took a deep breath. "My full name is Ana Belle Lee."

"That sounds familiar."

"Edgar Allan Poe."

He frowned. "What? Isn't that the guy that wrote 'The Raven'?"

She sighed. "He also wrote a poem called 'Annabel Lee'. My father, Dr. Thomas Lee, was a Literature professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. Poe was one of his favorite American writers – and one of my favorites, but I can't stand that poem. My high school covered it in 10th grade and you can imagine how my peers reacted to reading it, knowing my name was Ana Belle, because, of course, my parents didn't enroll me as Ana, but as Ana Belle."

Rodney nodded. "Yeah. I can."

"So?"

"Meredith."

She frowned. "What?"

"My first name. Meredith."

She whistled lowly. "So you really do know what I went through."

He nodded. "Yes."

She shrugged. "Well, your secret's safe with me as long as mine is safe with you. Deal?" She stuck out her hand.

Taking it, Rodney agreed. "Deal."

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"Sheppard, here."

Elizabeth's voice filtered through his earpiece. _John, we've just gotten word from the Daedalus. They can be there in 12 hours._

He frowned. "Good, it's taking way too long." When he finished his conversation with Elizabeth, he turned to find Zalenka looking at him.

The smaller man's face was dirty, his hair was mussed and his expression was grim.

"What?"

Zalenka frowned. "We still have not been able to make radio contact."

John frowned. "Is there any chance that we could get through with a Puddle Jumper?"

A thoughtful look crossed Zalenka's face. "Well, the Puddle Jumper does have a broader range. Perhaps the power from the Jumper could get through."

John looked up to the sky. "I could fly it directly above and drop altitude as low as possible."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try."

John nodded, happy to finally feel useful. The digging was going slowly and Carson was only allowing each person to work a certain number of hours on it. He'd exceeded his allotment to the point that Carson had threatened to have him escorted at gunpoint back to the gate. "I'll be back."

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_A/N: I used David Hewlett's birthdate for Rodney's since there's never been any discussion of Rodney's birthday in canon._


	5. Chapter 5

"Uh-oh."

"What?!"

Ana frowned at Rodney's tone. "My feet have fallen asleep," she said, calmly.

He relaxed. "Oh."

"I have to get up."

He offered her a hand and she smiled at him as she took it. "Thanks."

When she got to her feet, she leaned on him. "Oh, lord! I can't even _feel_ my feet. I hope you don't mind me leaning on you for a minute…"

Rodney could smell the scent of her hair, the dust mixed with the floral scent of her hair products. "Uh, no. Sure."

"Thanks."

He felt an unusual sensation as he put his arm around her to support her. He was in the process of squashing it down when she leaned her head against his arm and groaned, lowly.

"Are you okay?" he said, tightly.

"Yes," she said, through gritted teeth. "They're wakin' up." She sucked in her breath. "Oh, lord, I hate this feelin'!" She picked up her head and looked up at him. "Talk to me, McKay. Get my mind off it."

"So, you're dating Sheppard?"

Her eyes widened. "What?"

He shrugged. "I heard that you and he…"

She smiled a closed mouth smile. "We're not dating. We had a date, but we're not dating. We were two adults who decided to spend an evening together. We had fun but we both know it was a one-time thing. That was it."

"Oh."

She picked up her each of her feet in turn and put them down, gingerly. Then she looked up at him. "Why? Are you threatened by that?"

"I'm not threatened," he insisted. "What would make you think I'm threatened?"

Ana shrugged. "You're idea of starting a conversation is to ask me about dating Sheppard. You call him 'Kirk' and make derisive comments about his perceived libidinous exploits in the labs and in conferences."

He looked guilty and shrugged. "Oh."

She lessened her grip on him as she put more weight on her feet. "So, answer my question."

"What question?"

She frowned and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you threatened by John Sheppard?"

"I'm not!"

"You are."

"No."

"Yes."

He frowned at her. "I just don't understand what women see in him."

She laughed, softly. "He's a very attractive man, Rodney. He's smart and witty and confident. And he's kind."

"Whereas I'm none of that." He turned and took a step away, back toward the wall.

"Don't sell yourself short, McKay. You're a very attractive man. It's just…"

Rodney's eyebrows looked up and he suddenly looked self-conscious. "R-really? You think I'm attractive?" He relaxed, then, and pursed his lips. "It's just what?"

"Well, unfortunately, you tend to take points away from you when you talk. You're rude, condescending, insulting, arrogant, egotistical, thoughtless…"

"Okay, okay, I get it."

"…but not always." She frowned. "What makes you so difficult is that just when someone's got it in their head to dislike you intensely, you do something kind and thoughtful. You show this sensitive side that makes you very appealing."

"I do?"

Ana nodded. "Then, it's like you catch yourself being nice and turn into Scrooge again, so then people are left feeling so completely confused that…"

He frowned. "That, what?"

She shook her head. "Do you know when we first met I thought you were incredibly sexy?"

Rodney's eyebrows rose. "You did?" he squeaked.

Smiling, Ana nodded. "You were giving a briefing about the Stargate Program. You knew exactly what you were talking about and you showed it. You weren't condescending or rude or arrogant. You were strong and confident and intelligent." As she spoke, she walked over to him until, when she finished, they were toe to toe. She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "It's very hard to resist that kind of man."

"It is?"

"Mmm-hmm," she said dreamily. "Do you know why women are attracted to John Sheppard?"

"He's good looking."

"He's strong, confident and intelligent _and kind_." She looked off into space. "Why do you think women love actors like John Wayne? Hell, one of the most romantic kissing scenes I've ever seen in a movie was between John Wayne and Elsa Martinelli in the movie 'Hitari'."

Then she looked at his mouth. "I remember thinking what an interesting mouth you have. It's not symmetrical, but enticing still the same."

"It is?" he repeated.

She nodded and tilted her head slightly, focused on his mouth.

So he did what he figured John Wayne would do. He grabbed her by the arms, pulled her close and kissed her hard. When he released her, he waited for her to slap him.

Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open in surprise and shock. Then her eyes narrowed.

He stepped back. "Uh, Dr. Lee…"

She stepped closer. "Ana."

He stepped back again. "Ana?"

"Ana." She took another step. "Rodney."

He took another step back and hit the wall. He then steeled himself for a slap.

She took another step, closing the distance between them. She looked up at him, eyes narrowed.

"Ah, Ana," he started.

"Shut up and let me think."

To hear his own words used against him made him pause.

Then she reached up with one hand and, instead of slapping him, put it on his neck. Pulling him down, she reached up, tilted her head and touched her lips to his, softly, but insistently. When he put his hands on her waist, her kiss became bolder. She pressed her body against his and, in response, he wrapped his arms around her and reciprocated the kiss, eagerly.

Finally, she pulled back and looked up at him, with hooded eyes. "Rodney."

"Ana."

"What in the world made you decide to kiss me?"

He gulped. "To be honest, I don't know."

She grinned. "I'm glad you did."

His eyebrows reached the ceiling of their prison. "Really?"

She bit her lip and nodded.

"But Sheppard…"

She frowned. "I told you that there is nothing between John Sheppard and me." She grinned. "Actually, he suggested that I ask you out."

Rodney looked confused. "He did? Why would he do that?"

Remembering her conversation with Sheppard, she lied. "I don't know, but he did."

He looked at her mouth and ducked his head almost to hers. "So, why don't you?"

She grinned. "Play your cards right and I might."

He pulled her in close and began to explore her mouth in a way that made her head spin.

_Sheppard to McKay_.

They were too busy to hear, at first.

_Sheppard to McKay. Rodney, do you read?_

Their situation forgotten, Rodney whispered against her mouth. "Ignore it."

She pulled back and, with a twinkle in her eyes, said. "If this continues, we might want to find some place more comfortable than a stone floor."

That brought reality back in full force. Rodney grabbed his radio. "Sheppard! We're here! Where are you?"

_I'm in a Puddle Jumper about 100 feet above the cave. We're working on getting the debris out of the way so we can get you out._

Rodney frowned. "Debris? So there was a cave in?"

_You didn't know?_

"No. A door appeared and locked us in just before the tremors. There are no controls inside; we're hoping there's something on the outside."

_Well, sit tight. Daedalus should be here in about 11 hours. Hopefully the Asgard beaming technology can get you out if we don't get to you first._

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Well, it's not as if we have anywhere we _can_ go."

_Carson wants to know if you're injured at all._

"No. We've rationed our food and water."

Ana took the radio away. "Colonel, is Teyla okay?"

There was a pause. Then the slow response. _Yeah._

She smiled. "We were afraid something happened to you when we didn't hear from you."

_There is something interfering with the radios. The Jumper has a stronger transmitter. Look, I can't stay hovering here forever. Just know that we're working on digging you out. If we can get to you before the Daedalus gets here, we will._

Rodney took the radio back. "Okay. Uh, thanks, Sheppard."

_Sheppard, out._

Rodney looked at Ana, then, who was beaming. She reached up, impulsively, and hugged his neck. He circled his arms around her and hugged her back. When she pulled back, he looked around the room. "Okay, so should we finish the translations?"

She frowned. "Oh, ah…well," she swallowed. "I still have a bit of a headache. Do you think we could just rest for a bit?"

Rodney nodded. "Oh, sure. I mean, we probably have eleven hours."

Ana frowned. "Way to have faith in your fellow man, Rodney."

Rodney looked surprised. "What? It's not like they have all sorts of excavation equipment. And who knows how much of the cave collapsed."

She pursed her lips. "Still. Isn't it nice to know they're still working on it? Not just sitting on their heels, waiting for the Daedalus to show up?"

Rodney nodded. "Yes, but it doesn't make it any more likely that they'll get to us first."

Ana threw her hands up in the air and turned away from him. She walked over to the door and sat down against the wall next to it. Then she took off her shoes and her jacket and balled it up.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to get some rest."

"You're angry with me?" he walked over to her.

"It's the pessimism again," she explained. "Would it kill you to look at the glass as half-full, just once?"

He sat down next to her. "I'm sorry." He sighed. "I can't help it."

Ana looked over at him and, even through the darkness, could see that he felt bad.

She sighed and took his arm, lifted it up, and curled up against him. "Take a bit of a rest with me, Rodney."

He nodded and leaned back against the wall, allowing her to rest against his chest.

She looked up and kissed his lips, gently. "Good night."

He squeezed her and they fell into silence until they drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Rodney woke not knowing where he was, but that he had something warm curled up on side it. He reached over, thinking his blanket had fallen to the warm side, and touched a body. He lifted his head and looked over to see Ana curled up next to him. Her hand was resting on his chest and her head was on his shoulder. He turned his head and smelled her hair, still floral and dusty. "Ana," he said, softly.

"Mmm?"

"My hand's asleep,"

She shifted to put her head on his chest alleviating the pressure on his arm. He was surprised by the motion, but didn't object.

"Are you going back to sleep?"

She looked up at him, smiling, sleepily. "Aren't you the one who said I _need_ beauty sleep?"

Color came into his face. "I didn't mean that," he muttered, laying his head back down.

She stretched up to be even with his face and looked down at him. "I know you didn't, Rodney. You just don't know how to express yourself."

He frowned. "I know how – "

She stopped him speaking by pressing her lips to his. She lifted her head. "Don't speak."

He lifted his free hand and touched her cheek, then he moved it back behind her ear to pull her head back down to him. His kiss was gentle but thorough and she shifted until she was half on top of him. He shifted, then to turn her on her back, cradling her head on his arm as the kiss became more fervent. She wrapped her arms around his neck. His hand went to her waist and she sighed against this mouth. His hand moved up, slowly, from her waist and she arched against him. His hand cupped her breast through her clothes and his thumb followed the line of her bra cup to move it aside, through her shirt. She gasped, breaking the kiss. In response, he dipped his head and began to taste her neck. Her hands wove into his hair and she moved her hips against him in a way that sent electricity through his body.

He lifted his head and looked at her face: her eyes were half-closed, her face flushed and her lips were parted and slightly swollen from their kissing. He looked down the length of her body and then back up to her face. "Ana," he ground out. "We should stop."

She swallowed and licked her lips, her eyes meeting his. "What?"

"We," he became aware of where his hand was and moved it back to her stomach. "We should stop."

She swallowed again. "Yes, you're right." She frowned. "Why should we stop?" A smile tugged on her lips.

He cleared his throat. "Well, because…because…" he frowned, then smiled. "Actually, I don't know why," he admitted. He leaned back, away from her.

She pushed herself up on her elbows. "Are you okay?" she frowned.

He swallowed. "Nothing." He turned to his back and sat up.

She sat up and leaned to look at his face through the darkness, her eyebrows furrowed. "I didn't ask 'what's wrong', I asked 'are you okay'. What, exactly, is 'nothing'?"

He rubbed his hands through his hair. It was gritty, still filled with sand. "Nothing is nothing."

She turned to face him full on. "It doesn't look or sound like nothing."

He sighed. "It's just…"

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as it came to her. She scrambled to her feet and scooped up her jacket. "You're still…it's just…" She took a deep breath. "It's just that I dated John Sheppard."

He stood. "I'm sorry, I can't help it. The thought just popped into my head. I mean yesterday we were at each other's throats. Today we're…at each other's throats in a completely different way."

She shook her head. "It's not like the attraction wasn't there before. We were only at each other's throats because I wouldn't lie down and accept whatever bullshit you would throw at me. If you were nicer to me, I'd be nicer to you and we might've hooked up a long time ago."

He threw up his arms. "Fine! I'm an ass; you're an angel. When was the last time you kissed Sheppard?"

Ana's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. She looked around for something, then realized that she still had her jacket balled up in her hand. So she threw that at him.

He ducked and the jacket hit the wall behind him. He turned back to her. "Well?"

She pointed at him. "_That's_ none of your business. And if I recall correctly, _you_ were the one who kissed _me_ first. _And_, the fact that I may or may not have kissed John Sheppard wasn't botherin' you a few a minutes ago when you were feelin' me up!"

"Oh!" he pointed at her. "Oh! I wasn't the one rubbing my leg all up and down yours!"

"No, but you sure as hell had your hand on my boob!"

"Yeah, but you didn't stop me!"

"Because I didn't want you to stop!" She snapped, furious. "This is _your_ hang up, Rodney, _not mine!_"

Rodney shouted. "Oh, yeah?!"

Ana looked askance. "Wha – yeah!"

"Well – _fine_!" Rodney snapped his jaw shut and stalked over to the door, where his computer was and snatched it up, tapping furiously.

Ana was caught off-guard by the abrupt ending to the argument. Confused but still angry, she retrieved her flashlight and walked over to the portal to finish translating what she'd begun before the tremor.

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"Good news," Radek announced to John, Elizabeth and Carson, standing outside the entrance to the cave. "We've got all of the walls shored up and should be able to clear the last of the rubble within the next couple of hours."

Elizabeth smiled at John, whose eyes brightened and he turned to Zelenka. "That's great! Maybe we can get them out of there _before_ Daedalus gets here."

"We had an idea about getting them food and water. There seems to be an airshaft in the hillside above the cave. It's not big enough to go down, but perhaps we can send some Power bars or water bottles?"

Carson nodded. "Dehydration and hypoxia would be my biggest concerns in this situation. I'm relieved to hear about the airshaft, but if we can get water down there, it would stem possible problems. And we have to work under the assumption that the Daedalus transporters may not work."

Elizabeth nodded. "Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Is there a way to make sure the airshaft hasn't compromised by the cave in?"

Zelenka nodded. "Of course. We have instruments that can do that."

John frowned. "Would we be able to send some sort of antenna down there that will allow us to talk to them?"

Zelenka thought for a moment. "There may be something,"

Elizabeth nodded to John and he headed off with Zelenka.


	7. Chapter 7

Rodney was reading the same information on his computer screen for the third time when something flew over his shoulder and hit the wall in front of him. He glanced up, but didn't see anything, so he went back to reading. Then a small pebble bounced off the wall and landed on his computer. He slumped his shoulders and turned around to find Ana facing the other wall. He frowned at her back, then turned back around.

Half a minute later, another very small pebble tagged him in the back of the neck. "Alright!" he turned around.

Ana turned around from facing the wall. "What?"

He frowned at her. "You can stop throwing rocks, now."

A smile played at her lips. "I can?"

"Are you telling me that you haven't been tossing rocks at me?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Last I checked, I'm not tellin' you anything. You're not talkin' to me, remember?"

He frowned. "Did you want something?"

Ana put her hands on her hips and smiled. "I should think I made that more than obvious a little while ago."

Rodney sighed. He looked down to his computer, then turned it off and put it on the floor. "Ana," he said. "This is ridiculous."

She tilted her head. "I agree." She walked toward him.

He walked toward her so that they met in the middle. He put his hands on his hips. "I can't help how I feel. What do you want me to do about it?"

She crossed her arms. "Do you want a list of every guy I may have kissed in my life? It's a long one; starts all the way back in the third grade."

He pursed his lips. "I really don't care about _all_ the guys you 'may have kissed', only Sheppard."

Ana frowned. "Why? What does it matter?"

"He's my friend, Ana. And that's," Rodney looked around. "that's just not something you do."

She rolled her eyes. "That's a fat load of bull, Rodney. My two best friends in high school used to trade girlfriends like women trade jackets."

"Well, it's not something _I_ do."

A thought occurred to Ana. "You're afraid I'll compare you two."

Rodney suddenly looked miserable.

"Well, I am," Ana crossed her hands. "You want the details. I'm not going to say who the better kisser is, because I don't think that way, but…"

Rodney held up his hands. "Stop!"

"No," she shook her head. "I can tell you that he likes to hold a woman's face – "

He couldn't think of any other way to stop her, so he grabbed her again, ala John Wayne, and kissed her hard. It didn't take but a second for her to kiss him back, darting her tongue into his mouth and he was eager to reciprocate. He pulled her in close and ravished her mouth until she whimpered and felt like she was losing her footing. Then he pulled back and looked at her face.

She was flushed and her eyes were hooded. Her lips were slightly swollen and he smiled.

"You were saying?"

She blinked. "Ah…" she cleared her throat. "Wh-why do you keep doing that?"

He shrugged. "I couldn't think of any other way to stop you."

She frowned. "So you feel guilty about kissing me because you're afraid of what Sheppard will think, but you're okay about kissing me to shut me up?"

Rodney continued to hold her. "Doesn't make any sense, does it?"

She shook her head. "None whatsoever."

"And for your information, it's not the kissing part that concerns me," Rodney swallowed, looking over her head.

Ana straightened. "Oh." She bit her lip. "Well, there's nothing else for you to concern yourself about. If you're going to ask me if I slept with Sheppard, that would be none of your business. I don't talk about that kind of stuff with anyone. It's unladylike."

Rodney snorted. "Oh, please. Since when are you worried about being ladylike?"

Ana pulled away from him, then and pulled her shirt straight. "Once again, McKay, you're damned mouth has to ruin everything."

At the sound of his last name instead of his first, his heart sank in his chest.

Ana was waiting for his response, but the look of intense disappointment was something she wasn't expecting. It pulled at her and she stepped back to him. She put her hands on his face. "Damnit, Rodney," she whispered. She touched her lips to his, lightly. "What you do to me!"

The words were so soft that he almost didn't hear them. It gave him a feeling of power and lifted his spirits again. Then he realized she'd gone back to calling him Rodney. He put his hands on her waist, leaned in and, gently, kissed her.

She reached up and put her arms around his neck and once again, their kiss became fervent; exploring each other like there was no chance for tomorrow. His hands found their way under her t-shirt and burned designs into her skin, around her waist and up her rib cage. She reciprocated by unzipping his jacket and pulling his shirt up in the front, her fingers exploring his skin.

He pulled away from her mouth and smiled at the groan of protest it elicited from her. In response, he focused his attention on her neck and felt her knees go weak. He gently guided her to the floor, there in the center of the circle of ancient writing. On their knees, he pulled back to look at her, taking off his jacket.

"Rodney, please don't stop this time," Ana whispered, with a look of vulnerability that he couldn't remember ever seeing on her before.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her again, gently but thoroughly. His hands explored her body again, over her shirt and when his hand got to her breast, she pulled back and pulled off her shirt, giving him an eyeful of her pale skin in nothing but a black bra from the waist up.

He knelt paused, staring at her for a moment, wishing they weren't in the dark. Then that voice of pessimistic, self-doubt told him to be grateful they were in the dark because, eventually, she'd want him to take off his shirt.

Ana put her hands on his chest, then. "What is it, Rodney?"

No way was he going to tell her what was really going through his mind, so he opted for the first thought. "I was just thinking that I wished there was more light."

She frowned. "Why?"

He looked into her eyes. "You're beautiful, Ana. What man wouldn't want to see you naked in the light?"

She ducked her head suddenly, smiling.

"I've embarrassed you?" he asked. He tilted her head up. "I…I'm sorry, I didn't…I mean, that is to say…"

Ana put her fingers to his lips. "I'll be fine, Rodney. There's no permanent damage."

He put his arms around her and leaned in to kiss her again. This started soft and gentle and quickly moved to demanding and intense. She pressed against him, even kneeling on the stone floor and he pulled her close, running his hands across her bare back up to the strap of her bra.

_Sheppard to McKay!_


	8. Chapter 8

The sound of the radio pierced the cave room like a knockout punch.

Rodney let her go and groaned, which she echoed, sitting back on her heels. He pushed himself up to his feet as she lay down on the floor, resting her head on her arm and using her t-shirt as a cover without putting it back on. He walked back to where the radio was and snatched it up.

"McKay, here. Is Daedalus here already?"

There was a pause. _No. We've found an airshaft that leads from the hillside into the cave. We've lowered a remote antenna so that we can communicate without the puddle jumper. Zelenka thinks we can send food and water down._

Rodney picked up his computer and turned it back on. "This is great. Tell Zelenka that I have data to upload. Ana – er, Dr. Lee's translations will have to wait until we get to Daedalus because they're on _paper_, but we think we've figured out what this place is, at least."

Sheppard's voice sounded amused as he responded. _That'll wait until we get you and __Ana__ out of there. The Daedalus is still about three hours out. We're hoping to have a path to the portal room open in about an hour. After that, it's only a matter of getting the door open and getting you out._

Rodney looked surprised. "Really? That's great."

_We're going to send down some Powerbars and a couple of bottles of water. Since we don't know where the opening of the air shaft is in the room, you may want to get off to the side of the room, undercover, if possible."_

Ana stood, pulling her shirt back on and moved to the side of the room, next to him.

Rodney nodded to her. "We're ready, Sheppard."

After a few minutes, several Powerbars rained out of the ceiling, near where the light had come from. They landed in the exact spot that Ana had been laying. Then four bottles of water came in, one after the other, bouncing on top of the Powerbars.

Ana started laughing.

Rodney was about to go for the rations when he heard her and paused. "What's funny?"

She pointed at the rations. "That could have been painful. It's a good thing Sheppard called first."

Rodney frowned. "What?"

"Can you imagine if they had just sent that stuff down while we were kissing? One or both of us could have been laid out!"

Rodney thought about it and, then saw the humor in the situation himself. Chuckling, he motioned for her to join him in the middle. Instead, she walked around the room, accumulating their stuff and assembling it neatly within the circle. Then she laid out her jacket and his on the floor in the center and Rodney put the Powerbars and water there. Ana pulled out the last of the dried fruit out of her vest and checked the other pockets.

"Hey! Look what I forgot I have!" She pulled out a vacuum-sealed bag of jerky. "Now we have a veritable feast!"

Rodney shrugged. "Well, it's something, at least."

They sat, then, together and distributed the food and water and enjoyed each other's company while picnicking on Powerbars, dried fruit, dried meat and water.

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John joined Zelenka in the cave. "I thought you said we were through."

Zelenka nodded. "We should be. This is not a part of the cave in. It's a dead end." He looked at John. "Are you sure this is the corridor to the room?"

He nodded. "There were no forks or anything, just a straight shot to the room."

Zelenka frowned. He shone the light strapped to his head onto his computer. "This says there is a dead end."

John pulled out the life signs detector. Aside from himself, Zelenka and the other members of the excavation team that were assembled, there were two more distinct life signs just a few feet away. He noticed that they were very close together, but only said. "They're only about 25 feet from us."

Zelenka nodded. "Then, perhaps, this is the door McKay spoke of." He approached the wall and began to look around it.

John walked up to it as well, hoping that it would sense his ATA gene and just open, but nothing happened. "Anything?"

Grimly, Zelenka shook his head. "Not so far. I don't see any kind of control panel, but it may be hidden. Give me some time."

John nodded and started walking out of the cave to call Rodney again.

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Inside the room, Rodney and Ana were laying on their jackets, kissing, again. He was intent on keeping it from going too fast, but it was hard. When she sighed against him, it filled him with a desire that was almost impossible to resist. His hand was on her waist, but not moving up as it had before.

She broke the kiss and went for his neck, nipping and sucking, her way from his throat to his ear. She paid special attention to the pulse point at the base of his ear, making him groan with the pleasure of it and the pain of not wanting to ravish her here on the cave floor.

He pushed her back and rolled so that he was more on top of her than she was on top of him. His mouth began to travel her neck as hers had his. When she sighed a small whimper, it sent bolts of lightning through him and his will was shattered. He pushed her shirt up from her waist. He moved down and began to taste her stomach and, pushing her shirt up as he went, worked his way up, taking immense pleasure from her labored breathing. His hand slipped around her back and worked to release the clasp of her bra.

When it didn't come loose right away, she arched her back and reached back to undo it herself.

He looked down at her, then. She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. Then she sat up just a bit and took his face in her hands, kissing him thoroughly, again.

His hand disappeared inside her shirt again and traced her ribcage, causing her to gasp. He smiled down at her and his hand moved slowly up to the edge of her bra. "You're ticklish," he whispered.

"Not at times like this," she whispered, back. "Just sensitive."

He dragged his hand slowly down to her stomach again and returned to deliver soft, barely there kisses against her skin, delighting in the way she'd gasp and arch her back as he worked his way up, pushing her shirt up as he progressed. When he finally got to it, he pushed her now loosened bra up, placing kisses on the underside of first one breast, then the other. She sucked in a breath in anticipation of what was to come.

_Sheppard to McKay!_

"Sonofabitch!" Ana exclaimed, her eyes, popping open.

Rodney looked at her and smiled. "I hope you're talking about Sheppard."

She groaned and covered her eyes with one arm, which left one breast delightfully exposed to him.

Unable to resist, he bent down and took the offering into his mouth, nipping, gently, causing a gasp to quickly turn into a moan as she wove her hand into his hair and arched her back.

_Sheppard to McKay! Rodney respond!_

He cursed as he sat up and grabbed for the radio. "Yes, yes, what is it?" he snapped, watching her chest heave.

There was a pause. Then Sheppard's voice returned with a barely patient tone. _Are you guys okay?_

Ana shook her head and mouthed "No!" smiling. She turned to her side and began to stroke his thigh.

Distracted, he cleared his throat. "Yes, yes, everything's fine here. Has…" he pushed her hand from a potentially mind-numbing part of his anatomy. He cleared his throat again. "Has Zelenka figured out how to get us out of here, yet?"

_No. We got to within 25 feet of you and came to a dead-end. He's working to find an access panel as we speak._

Ana's eyes widened and she sat up, fixing her clothes as she looked toward the door.

Rodney sighed. "Okay."

There was another weighted pause. _Daedalus is entering orbit, though, and we hope to have you out of there within the hour._

Rodney looked apologetically toward Ana, who sighed and shrugged. "We'll get everything together and be waiting for your signal."


	9. Chapter 9

He put the radio back into his vest and looked at Ana. "Could be anytime," he said, by way of apology.

She smiled and licked her lips. "I can wait until we get back, if you can."

Rodney reached for her and kissed her, gently. When they parted, he said. "I'm too impatient, but I don't want Zelenka to open that door to an eyeful."

Ana dipped her head in what he imagined to be a blush. "I appreciate that. Thank you."

He kissed her again.

_Dr. McKay, this Daedalus. Prepare for transport._ Caldwell's voice broke through their moment.

Quickly, they gathered their things and stood. As Ana nodded at him with a wink and a smile, Rodney keyed his radio. "We're ready."

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Rodney and Ana were beamed up to the Daedalus then back to the surface, where they were escorted through the gate and straight to the infirmary. John went with them and stood next to Ana's bed as she assured Carson that all she needed was a shower and a decent meal.

"You're sure you're okay? You _were_ stuck in a room with McKay for over twelve hours," John looked her over.

"Hey, I am sitting right here!" Rodney said from the next gurney.

Ana touched John's arm and grinned. "I really am fine, Shep. Honest." But when she looked over to Rodney she could see in his face that something was wrong.

He saw her touch John's arm and felt a lead weight in his stomach. He knew it shouldn't bother him; he believed her when she said that she and John weren't involved, but it still bothered him that they had dated.

John looked over at Rodney. "So is it a repository of Ancient knowledge?"

Rodney shook his head. "It's a meditation room. Presumably it is a place for someone to reach enlightenment in preparation for ascension; Dr. Lee never found anything in the writing other than the ramblings of ascension mumbo-jumbo. By the time, we got around to actually trying the thing, it wasn't working. If it ever worked, in the first place." He glanced over to Ana.

Ana was looking at him with a curious look on her face and he looked away. "Carson, are you about done?"

"Yes." Carson smiled at him, then her. "You both seem no worse for the wear. But I'm prescribing a full day's rest for each of you."

Ana smiled in Rodney's direction, but he refused to meet her eyes as he jumped off the gurney and walked out.

Suddenly, it occurred to her that what had started in that cave had been left there.

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Ana opened her door hours later to find Rodney there. Guardedly, she said. "Rodney."

"I think we should talk."

She shook her head. "No. I don't think we should, Rodney. Talkin' only ever got us two places; I don't want to fight with you and I think we both know the other isn't goin' to happen."

Rodney looked miserable. "I'm sorry, Ana."

She shook her head and smiled up at him, touching his arm. "Don't be, Rodney. You can't change who you are anymore than I can change who I am. And if we could," she shrugged with her face. "Well, the attraction wouldn't be the same." She took a deep breath. "Let's just leave it at 'friends', okay?"

He looked surprised. "Really?"

She frowned. "You have to ask?" She chuckled. "Yes, Rodney!" She shook her head and looked back into her room, then leaned forward, whispering. "And if you ever need to be reminded that you are a truly attractive – even sexy – man, you come and see me. 'Kay?"

Rodney almost didn't hear her offer as he looked past her. He swallowed and nodded, looking into her quarters. "You have company?"

She nodded, then saw the same look in his eyes as she had in the infirmary and rolled her eyes. "Oh, jeez, Rodney! Come on in. I'll introduce you to my friend Katie."

He relaxed, then tensed again when it occurred to him who Katie might be. "Hey," he took her arm and stopped Ana. "Isn't that the cute redhead from the Botany Lab?"

Ana smiled widely at him, but said. "Way to stroke a girl's ego, there, McKay."

"What?" Rodney honestly had no idea what she was talking about.

Shaking her head, she laughed and motioned for him to go inside her quarters, following. "Hey, Katie, have you met Rodney?"

_FIN_


End file.
